Faculty & Research

At Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts, ecologists are studying the effects of climate change on the landscape—and seeing the damage in real time. The 4,000-acre forest and its trove of collected data, which attract researchers from around the globe, is a true labor of love for the faculty who work there and key to understanding what a warming world means for nature—and for humans.

The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability announced a sixth round of seed grant awards for work on understudied and emerging topics in climate and sustainability. Among other things, Harvard researchers will examine chocolate production in a changing climate, new materials to harvest moisture, and Kazakhstan's green transition.

As a promising alternative to existing carbon capture technologies, researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have developed carbon capture systems that use molecules called quinones, dissolved in water, as their capturing compounds.

With funding from the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, new interdisciplinary research teams of Harvard faculty are taking on two of the biggest sources of planet-heating emissions: buildings and transportation. Combined, these account for over half the world’s carbon pollution.

With demand for air conditioning expected to soar 40 percent by 2030, Harvard startup Trellis Air uses a unique membrane to dry and cool air with far less energy than traditional ACs and dehumidifiers.

Harvard's Mittal Institute announced its first recipients of the Faculty Climate Research Grants, which are designed to foster deeper scholarly engagement on climate change in South Asia, catalyze the creation of new knowledge, and contribute to the development of sustainable solutions. 

Federally funded research by Harvard scholars has led to life-changing solutions to real-world problems facing millions of Americans, from preventing opioid deaths to treating diseases to building a better air conditioner.

Nonie K. Lesaux, Roy Edward Larsen Professor of Education and Human Development, has been named dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

From developing a better way to predict and prevent wildfires, to upcycling wool waste into building insulation, to convening insurance and climate change experts to address gaps in knowledge, five new interdisciplinary projects have received funding from the Salata Institute Seed Grant Program. 

Earth scientist Hong Yang, musician William Cheng PhD ’12, and computer scientist Narges Mahyar—all Radcliffe fellows—blend music, data, and visuals to increase climate change awareness.